A shareholder revolt at ExxonMobil led by the billionaire
Rockefeller family has won the support of four significant British
institutional investors who will call on Monday for a shakeup in the
governance of the world's biggest oil company.

Guardian.co.uk has
learned that F&C Asset Management, Morley Fund Management, the
Co-Operative Insurance Society and the West Midlands Pension Fund are
throwing their weight behind a resolution demanding that ExxonMobil
appoints an independent chairman to stimulate debate on the company's
board.

ADVERTISEMENT

Exxon is facing a rebellion from its investors over its
hardline approach to global warming. The firm has refused to follow
rival oil companies in committing large-scale capital investment to
environmentally friendly technology such as wind and solar power.

The
Rockefeller dynasty, whose ancestor John D Rockefeller founded the
original oil business at the core of ExxonMobil, have sponsored four
shareholder resolutions demanding changes at Exxon. One of these calls
on Exxon's chief executive Rex Tillerson, to relinquish his role as
chairman in favour of an outsider to bring in an alternative point of
view.